Milling machine for continuous milling



J. F. PATTON ET AL MILLING MACHINE FOR CONTINUOUS MILLING 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 30 1920 .J A ll I NTOR J E /ETTOA/ ch 16, m3. 1,470,873

J. F. PATTON ET AL MILLING MACHINE FOR CONTINUOUS MILLING Filed April 30. 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q wi a M INVENTOR J'F'PATTOA/ BY 5 MALL 107 FA Get. 16, 1923. 1,470,873

J. F PfiwToN ET AL MILLING MACHINE FOR CONTINUOUS MILLING Fi pril 50. 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 n In M TNT 41 m 111 \m IE" L Ma Ma m t I *JZMLATTORNEY starirnn than

JAMES F. PATTQN AN'DJOHN n vi eiinisrna, or CLEVELAN onio; .SAID McALLISTER assieivon T sni rii'rroii.

MILLING Maorinn For. eoiv riivnous MILLING.-

Application filed April 30, 1920. Serial No. 377,933.

To aZZ whom z'zi may concern:

Be it known that we JAMES F. PATTON --and JOHN E. MoALnisrnn, both citizens of the United States, residing atCleveland, in the State of Ohio; have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in "Milling Machines for Continuous Milling, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates particularly to a machine which operates upon formed blanks to convert them into castellated nuts. In general castellated nuts are hexagonal in form attheir base and are provided with an upper cylindrical portion. Through a portion are milled slots which are perpendicular to the'lines forming the sides of the formed blanks. It is an object of our invention to mill these slots in the formed blanks.

Various objects and advantages of our invention will be set forth hereinafter.

In general the invention consists of a machine into. which blanks are introduced and by which they are fed past a cutter which cuts a slot therein. After being cut the blanks are rearranged and so forced to another slotting device which produces a slot at an angle to the first slot. After the second slot the blanks are rearranged and soforced to another slotting device which produces a slot at a predetermined angle to the previous slots.

selves at a corresponding angle.

For the purpose of more fully disclosing the nature, and advantages. of our invention,

we will describe the specific embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, thatthe invention iscapable of various modifications and. therefore, it'isjnot limited to the particular structures illustrated. In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a frontelevatio-n. of one "forme'f the ma- I uchine,pa;rtsbeing broken'away toshow. de

tails. Fig; '2 is a plan viewof. theanachine shown in "Fig. 1, parts being omitted or broken away to showdetails. Fig. 3-1s a transverse longitudinal sectionof Fig. 2

showing-the arrangement of opeifating gears.

In one aspectthe present invention c'ontemplates feedingthe nuts forward during this operation in a direct line and producing" V rotates it forces the formed Fig. 4 is a fragmentary verticalsection'of a mechanism for rearranging the blanks; Fig.

5 is a face view of an adjustable wormj Fig.

6 is an end view of the channel. Fig. 7 is aj formed blanks 2'may be placed with the.

sides of their bases in contact. From the chute the formed blanks ,inay dropjinto pockets in ajfe'ed wheel 3 which is mounted scribed.

[on a shaft; 4 and rotated as hereinafter ,de-

Asinoreclearly shown in' Fig. 7 the feed" wheel consists of a central cylinder 7xqbe tween twofianges S. The flanges are provided with inwardly extendingteeth 9. It

will beseen that the teeth 9 are beveled at their. inner ends so as to. correspondto the forms of the formed blanks 2. It, will be understood that the teeth 9 illustrated in Fig. 5 are adapted for'the particular formed blanks 2 shown in the drawings. Formed blanks. of other sizesor other contours may be :acommodated by substituting for the teethi) herein shown other suitably formed 3 may be employed.

Fig. 8 is a front elevationiof .85 teeth, or other suitably formed feed wheels it A :channel 10 is at right a gles with ts axis of the feed wheel 3-so that as the wheel p p blanks=2through the' channel. The channel may be of any su table length and at aproper pointinit is a cutter "11 which is adapted tobe-rotated in a manner hereinafter described and to cut a slot across'one dianieterof-the formed blanks as they pass by the cutter, In the particular drawings the cutter consists of the usualdisc .nioiinted over thechannel l0 and acting upon the'tops of the formed blanks as they blanks but allowthem free passageand atembodiment of the invention shown in the ioo Y p the same time prevent the formed from buckling or turning or being forced.

blanks up. The retaining plates do; howevenallow the nuts or formed blanks some freedom.

'These plates are shown toward'the right of Fig. 2 but are broken away at the left to more clearly show what is underneath.

As shown in Fig. 6. the retaining plates 12 are supported by'removable side pieces 52 for the channel 10 set in the bed casting.

Screws 53 hold the plates and side pieces in place. In the channel 10 the nuts as they 7 move along rest on a bottom plate 54 which through the channel and they are forced un-' der the cutter by a continuous forward movement and not by an intermittent movement. The arrangement of the formed blanks in the channel and when the cutters act upon the formed blanks is such that the slot milled in the formed blanks is perpendicular to two of the side faces of the formed blanks.

In order to complete the milling operation of the formed blank, which require-the milling of two additional slots at an angle with reference to the first milled slot it is necessary to feed the formed blanks, when once cut, at an angle to their first cut and then again at an angle to the first and second slots. It is-obvlous that if several cutting mechanisms are arranged to act upon the formed blanks in their movement when so i turned each blank will have in it three milled slots extending directly'across the formed .blanks and perpendlcular to the side faces of the formed blank. The blanks when hturned might be passed through channels a continuation of the channel 10. Associated parallel with or at an angle to the channel 10 but it is preferred to pass them through with the continuation of the channel 10 are corresponding cutters 11. It maybe found desirable to associate with each of the additional' cutters 11 a separate feed wheel 3' but this is not essential.

In order to ensure that the formed blanks will be turned properly after each cutting a transfer wheel 13 is shown adjacent the path of the formed blanksjand arranged-to receive the upper edge of thehexagonal portion of a formed blankbetween each pair of points. .The transfer wheel 13 is fastened to a holding down plate 14: which is mounted on a vertical shaft 15 carried in a housing 16 1 proper amount.

within which is a s rin 17 surroundin the shaft and pressing downward upon an enformed blanks or their hexagonal lower portions. The channel 10 is shown curved at 22 into an arc, the center of the channel approximately corresponding to the circumference of the transfer wheel. While not. essential this is found convenient as a ready means of holding the formed blanks snugly within the opening between the teeth of the transfer wheel. A convenient guide is so formed for the blanks while'being turned. The holding down plate 14L assists in keep ing the blanks in place. As each blank reaches the beginning of the arc 22it enters an aperture between the teeth of the transfer wheel and the pressure of the nuts behind it forces it forward causing the transfer wheel to rotate. three nuts are engaged by the transfer wheel and within the are. A preferable arrangement for the specific blanks shown in the drawings is to provide the transfer wheel with twelve teeth and to have the angle formed at its center by radii passing through the first and last nut in the are 22 equal to sixty degrees. This allows the blanks when passing tl'irough the are 22 to be turned a When a blank enters the transfer wheel 13 its face is in contact with the preceeding blank and when it leaves the transfer wheel it has been turned or rearranged so that its adjoining face is in contact with the corresponding- .fa'ce'of a succeeding nut. The relation of the transfer wheel to the feed wheel is shown in Fig. 7. As shown in l? 2 as the nut blank leaves the transfer wheel it drops into a pocket of the succeeding f -d. h l 3 b which it is forced through the continuation of the channel 10 and under thesucceeding cutter 11 in "such a way asto produce a slot at a predetermined angle to the first slot. In like manner the blanks carrying two slots are turned by the second transfer wheel and fed forward by the third feed wheel and under the third cutter in such a way as to produce the third slot in a proper desired relation to the preceeding slots. 7 w I i I The transfer wheels needhave-no external] force applied to them and as shown they are not positively driven. Their rotation is caused by the forward movement ofthe nuts through the channel 10 and the are 22. V

The feed wheels may be rotated by any "suitable arrangement of mechanism. Fi s.

1 and 2 are broken away so as to showthat in the machine illustrated the feed wheels 3 It'will be observed that 1 reus s are mounted on transverse shafts 4 carrying worm wheels 23 engaging worms 24"and 31 carried by the shaft 25 driven inany suit able way by the pulley 26. Associated with the pulley 26 is shown clutch 27 controlling the operation of the shaft and operated by a-clutch rod. 28 controlled bya clutch lever 29 pivoted at 30 to the bed of the ma chine. Adjustment may be desirable to al 10w each feed wheel 3 to'be properly arranged to receive nuts in the proper manner' from the chute 1 or from a transfer wheel 13. The worm 24 may be turned to set the first feed wheel. sociated with the two other feed wheels are loosely mounted on the shaft 25. An ex tension of each worm 31, as shown in Fig.

. 5, consists of a disc 32 provided with a plurality of holes 33 any pair. of which may be engaged by bolts 34 carried by the disc '35 keyed to the shaft 25. The bolts 34 may be removed and the feed whee-ls properly set to grasp the formed blanks as they pass from the transfer wheel 13 and force them as so turned through the channel and under the cutter. The bolts 34 may belthen set into the proper corresponding holes 33 to hold such adjustment and the worms will turn with the shaft and drivethe feed Wheels "so as to properly force the'nuts forward.

The cutters may be rotated ina'ny suitablemanner. In the machine of the drawings each cutter 11 is carried on a transverse shaft 36 mounted in a housing 37 provided with a'device 38 of a well known type for adjusting the cutters. Mounted on each shaft 36, is agear 39 at the rear of the machine. An arm 40 carries a shaft 41 carry ing a gear 42 and pulley 43. Stud shafts 44 carry adjustable slotted arms 45 in the ends of which "are mounted idler gears 46. Each idler gear 46 engagestwQ of the cutter gears 39. 7 By this arrangemehtas more clearlyshown in Fig. 3 when the pulley 43 is driven by any suitable means (not shown) it rotates the gear 42 which engages the first gear 39 which in turn through the gear 46 drives the next gear 39 which in turn through the next gear 46 drives the other gear 39.- It will be seen that by this arrangement the cutters are all caused to rerate in the same direction, which in Fig. 1 will be the clockwise direction, so that their lower cutting sides will travel in the direction opposite to the travel of the stream of nuts, which in Fig. 1 is from the left toward the right. The various gears are removably held 'in place and they may be changed as may the gears 46 and the adjustment of the arms 44 so asto provide for different speeds of rotation or if desirablethe individual cutters 11 may be driven at different speeds. I

K In order to ensurethe blanks moving from the chute 1 into the feedwheel 3 it may be formed blanks. are'kept in" contact with each The worms 31' as to cause the feed wheel to rotate.

ing wheel 5 as illustrated in'Figgl. This is not'essentialand itis omitted fro n Fig; 2. The wheel 5is13rovided at its; periphery with extending teeth or knobs 6 properly 'ar- 7 ranged to engage the central apertures in the formed hlanksand direct them from't-he chute 1 into the feed wheel-"3. The spac} ing of the-knobs 6 may be such that the other. The wheelf5 is arranged directly above the outlet (of the chute 1 and above the feed wheel. 3 so that it ensures a continuous stream of nuts entering the pockets of the feed wheel.

In Figs. 8, 9 and 10 we have shown an optional arrangement in which we provide only one feed wheel[3which is relied upon to force the nuts entirely through the machine; This arrangement contemplates no feed wheels to receive the nut from the transfer wheels. The single feed wheel used may be driven in any suitable manner. As shown it is arranged on a transverse shaft 47 which carries a gear 48 engaging a gear 49 on the shaft of a pulley 50 which may be driven by any suitable means (not shown) c Since there is no feed wheel associated with the transfer wheel in this arrangement the overa hanging supporting deviceshown in Fig. 4

for the transfer wheel is not necessary. As shown in Fig. 8 a bolt 51 is tapped into the bed of the machine adjacent the channel 10 and passes through the transfer wheel 13 and its associated holding down plate vl4. The transfer wheel 13 and the holding down plate 14 are free to rotate on the bolt 51. It may not be necessary but the transfer wheel 13 asshown in Fig. 8 may now be made considerably thicker than the one shown in Fig. 1, since its thickness is. not limited by the necessity for avoiding interference with the underlying feed a wheel. The increased thickness'of the transfer wheel 11'') 3 fallows a larger proportion of the hex agonal nut blanks to engage the transfer wheel more firmly. It is thus more surely possible to transmit the motion from the feed L wheel 3 through the nuts engaged by the transfer wheel to the nuts which have already passed the transferwheel into the continuationof the channel 10. 4

As shown'iu Fig; 10 the retaining plates I 12 may be flat on both sides and rest on removable side "pieces 52 thic'ker than those shown in Fig. 6. g i

In interpreting the appended claims it should befremembered f that numerous changesmight be made in the apparatus 5 shown without departing fromyour inven- 1 tion; M a

plurality ofeommunicating sections exteiid- 1:5

they ing in a substantially straight line, means for forcing nuts through the channel, means for cutting the nuts in each section, and means for rearranging the nuts as they pass from one section to the next.

2. A bed, havingv a channel comprising a plurality of communicating sections exteualing in a substantially straight, line, means, for forcing nuts through the channel, means for cutting the nuts in each section, and means for rearranging thenuts as they pass from one section to the next. t

3. A bed having a straight channel sec- ?i.OI1, means for slotting nuts in the section, :2 curved section joining the straight secn, a transfer wheel adjacent the curved tion for turning the nuts as they pass nrough the curved section, andrneans for i orcing the nuts through the. channel secions.

1. A bed having a straight channel secion, means for forcingnuts therethrough, means for slotting the nuts in the section, a urved section to receive the nuts from the -traight section, a second straight section to receive thenuts from the curved section, means for slotting the nuts in the second section, a second curved section to receive the nuts from the second straight section, a third straight section to receive the nuts from the second curved section, means for slotting the nuts in the third straight section, and means for guiding the nuts as they pass through each curved section so that in a different position from that, in the preceding straight sections.

5. A chute carrying nut blanks, a feed wheel below the chute for receiving the blanks, a channel through which the blanks are forced by the feed wheel, and a spacing wheel leading a constant stream of spaced nuts from the chute to thefeed wheel.

6. Three cutters in a line with each other, means for. feeding nuts to the cutters in suc ccssion. and means for rearranging the nuts between the cutters so that the cuts inthe nuts are at predetermined angles to each other. I v

7. A bed having a straight channel section, means for forcing nuts therethrough,

means for slotting the nuts in the section. a curved section to receive the nuts from the straight section, a second straight section to receive the nuts from the curved section, means for slotting the nuts in the second section, and means for guiding the nuts as they pass throughthe curved section so that they enter the second straight section inv a different position from that in the. first straight section.

tion, means for forcing nuts therethrough, means for slotting the nuts in the section, a curved section joining the. straight section,

enter the succeeding straight section West fianda transfer wheel adjacent the curved section for turning the nuts as they pass I through the curved section.

9. A bedhaving a straight channel sec tion, means for forcing nuts therethrough, for slotting the nuts inthe section, a

curved section joining the' straight section,

and a transfer wheel driven by the nuts and ad acentthe curved section for turning the nuts as they. pass through the curvedtsecv tion. i V

10. A bed having a channel comprising. a plurality of alined communlcatlng sections. means for forcing nuts through the channel,

means for cutting the nuts in each section,

means for transferring the nuts from one section to the next and means for rearran 3 3 ing the nuts as they are transferred.

11. Abed having'a channel comprising. a plurality of alined communicating-sections, means for forcing nuts through the channel, means for cutting the nuts in each section,

means driven bythe nuts for rearranging t the nuts as they pass from one section to another.

12. A bed having a channel comprising a plurality of alined communicating sections, means for forcing nuts through the channel, means for cutting the nuts in each section, and means transferring the nuts from one section to the next. I

13. A transfer wheel for turning nuts, and acurved guide holding the nuts snugly in the wheel. V i

14. A transfer wheel for turning nuts, and an overlying plate for holding thenuts in the Wheel. I

15. A. bed having a channel comprising a plurality of alined communicating sections,

means for forcing nuts through thechannel, and means for cutting the nuts at a different angle in each section.

16. A bed having a channel comprising three straight sections and two intermediate curved sections, means for forcing nuts through the channel, means in each straightsection for cutting the nuts, and means at each curved section for turning the nuts.

17. In a. metal working machine of theguideway adapted to receive and hold a 8. A bed having a straight channed sec series of nuts or like articles in alignment as they pass therealong, means for operat ing on such nuts located in longitudinally spaced relation adjacent said guideway, and

spaced relation adjacent said guideway,'- means for feeding nuts along said guideway located in advance ofeach such'operating means and means intermediate eachp'air of said ope-rating means adaptedto turn sucmeans intermediate each pair of saidoperating means adapted to turn successivenuts through a predetermined angle, said las Y named. means beingactuated by the nuts themselves incidentally to their movement means intermediate each pair of said oper-i V- ating means adapted to turn successive nuts 5 through a predetermined angle and position along said guideway.

19. In a metal Working machine of the" icharac'ter described, the'c'ombinati'on of a 'guideway adapted to receive and holds;

series of nuts or like articlesiin alignment they pass therealong, means'for operating on such nuts located in longitudinally spaced relation adjacent said guideivay, and means intermediateeach pair of said operating means adapted to turn ,'successive nuts through a predetermined angle; said last named means including a pivotally mounted member adapted "to beengaged by successive nuts andto be actuated thereby incidentally to their movement along said guideway.- 1

20. In a metal Working machine of the. character described the combination o f a guideway adapted to receive and hold a,

series of nuts or likelarticles in alignment as they pass therealong, means for operating on such nuts located in longitudinally spaced relation adjacent said guideway and means intermediate each pair of said opera ating means adapted 'toturn successive nuts through a predetermined a-ngle said lastnamed means including a rotatable member adapted to be engaged by successive nuts-and to be actuated thereby incidentally to tlieir movement along. said guidewayn 21. In a metal Working mach'ne of the character described, the combination of a guideway adapted to receive and hold a series of nuts or like articles in alignment as they pass therealong means for operating on such nuts located in longitudinally cessive nuts through a. predetermined angle and position same for engagement with the I v rated-thereby incidentally to their movement corresponding feeding means.

22. In ametal orking" machine I of the character described, the combination-of a dentally to their vmovement along said guideway.

they pass therealong, means for'operating on such nuts located in longitudinally spaced same for engagement with the corresponding feedingm'eans, said turning means be-- ing' actuated by the nuts themselvesinciguideway. v j 23. In a metal working'n'iachine ofthe 1 character described; the combination of a guideway adapted to receive and hold a series of nuts or like articles in alignment as they pass therealong, means for operating on such nutslocated in longitudinally spaced relation adjacent said guideway, means for feedingnuts along said uidewaylocated in advance of each such operating means, and

ing feeding :means said turning means in cluding a pivotally mounted member adapt movement along said I so led tolbe engaged by successive nutsand to be actuated thereby inciden't-allyjto their 24;. In a metal Working machine of the cha-racterdesc-ribed, the combination of a guideway adapted to receive andlholdl'a series of nuts or'like articles in alignment'as they passtherealong means fornoperating on such nuts'locatedin longitudinally spaced relation adjacent said guideway, meansfor feeding nuts along said guideway locatedin advance oi each such operating means, and

meansintermediate each pair of said oper ating means adapted to turn successive nuts through a predetermined angle and position ,same for engagement with the correspondfing feeding means said turning means including afrotatable member adapted to be en a ed b successive nuts and to be actu: 7

along said guidevvay. 

